SP3

If you are disappointed after this blog, don't be! I just have WAY better things I want to share! So let's get on with it...here's the rest of the pictures.



This is why my knees hate me now.


This is why my knees will always hate me.





But, it was worth it!


Why not pack a portable stove for ramen noodles and coffee?


Simba wasn't able to make an appearance.


This is the traditional Korean bed (aka a mat on the floor). I slept like one of the huge boulders I climbed up that night!

The next day, we went to the beach at Sokcho. I realized here how much I miss Panama City Beach, and I spent the 3 hours here standing in the water, smelling the salt, and watching this...



And all was right with the world.

Soeraksan Part Two

Where we left off...

The shelter. I finally got to sit down, get out of the raging wind, go pee (in the disgusting "bathrooms"), and drink some water and hot coffee in a can. Yes, there is such a thing as HOT coffee in a can!
We were only in the nap room for about 10 minutes, when they started to close it down for the day. I just couldn't win!

Let me just remind you that this was an 11 hour hike, and we had only gone the first 5 1/2 hours. So we left the shelter to be greeted with the most amazing view.

OK, so the picture doesn't really do it justice, but the East Sea is in the far distance. If only a Genie could have come to grant me wishes...I would have wished for a zip line to take me straight across landing right into the salt water I've been missing.

So we began our descent. This time it was much better. Even though it was mainly rock stairs, I wasn't having to climb and constantly pull myself up. We made it to the next shelter in 1 1/2 hours, where I ate my kimbap I had brought for lunch. The bathrooms here, I might add, were holes in the ground. But somehow, they smelled much better than the first ones which were toilets.

I shouldn't say smelled better....more like smelled less of rotten sewage death.

Oh, I also want throw my two cents out to Korea on something. Korea: you brush your teeth after every meal, only drive nice cars, never throw trash on the ground, always look clean and nice....yet you have NO place to wash your hands after hiking for hours and using the primitive bathrooms. WHY? Seoraksan was crawling with people. This is not a remote destination. You owe me some soap for having to eat my kimbap with my germ soiled hands.

Anyways,



We continued on like this for the rest of the day. Although we did stop to gaze at the beautiful leaves now and then. Unfortunately, blogger isn't letting me upload any more pictures at the moment, so the rest of the hike will have to be seen in part three.

Seoraksan Part One

Time: Friday, 9:00pm
Place: In bed, under the covers
TV: The Devil Wears Prada
Feeling: Warm, relaxed, and cozy
Sound: beep, beep, beeP, beEP, bEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!!

"Ugh ok, ok I'll wake up to turn you off!"

What was I doing waking up from a peaceful slumber at 9PM on a Friday night?

No, it wasn't a disco nap. Well, I guess it sort of was. Maybe I could call it a mountain nap.

I was waking up to grab my back pack, throw on my hiking boots, and head into Seoul. You see, I signed up for a weekend trip to Seoraksan & Sokcho with Seoul Hiking Group, and we were leaving at 11:30pm. I almost backed out. I was sleeping so good, and did NOT want to get up. And The Devil Wears Prada was on. But, no! I put my big girl panties on and got moving.

Why were we leaving so late?

Because we had to get there by 3am to start hiking to see the sunrise, that's why!



So, we all met outside the bus stop around 11:00pm. I met a few nice girls, and was feeling great about this weekend trip. I had a rough week, and was really looking forward to a break. I managed to sleep on the bus, so when we arrived at 2:30am I was pumped and ready to go.

Then the bus door opened.

"Whoa!" X about the 40 people on the bus...it was freakin' cold outside.

But, still...I was ok. I just added my hoodie underneath my jacket, and threw on my sweats over my frog legs and shorts. So we all congregated near the coffee tent before starting, and took a few pictures.



And then we were off. Now, before I go any further I should explain what my expectations were before starting. I signed up for the 11 hour hike. I know that sounds like a long time, but considering breaks and lunch, and the fact that I can walk forever, it didn't seem that bad. I was expecting a gradual climb. My mind saw switch backs and dirt paths. Like the kind I have hiked on in Colorado, Montana and England.

NORMAL HIKING TRAIL


KOREAN HIKING TRAIL

I took the above picture later on in the day, so the part of the hike I'm referring to doesn't even have proper photo documentation. I guess it was really more like this:

Ok, so maybe not JUST like that.

Anyways, the beginning of the hiking trail was stairs. I'm sorry, did I say the beginning?

I meant the first FOUR hours.

Rubber stairs, metal stairs, rock stairs, rock "stairs", and rocks. And rocks.

And rocks.

"Shit, what did I get myself into?" I thought. We weren't just hiking up one big mountain. We were going straight over smaller ones first. No switchbacks. Just straight up and over.

And it was dark and freezing! Yeah, I had a flash light...but it just made it harder to CLIMB up the rock "stairs", since both hands were needed so as not to fall off the side of the mountain.

I ended up sticking with 4 people: Kelly, Erica, Tim, and Faina. Kelly and Tim had been hiking in South Korea before, so they knew what their trails are like. But, Erica, Faina, and I had no clue it would be like this. We were a happy bunch, let me tell ya.

I could go on forever about those first 3-4 hours, but nothing will illustrate how difficult it was for us. Oh wait, there is one thing that might.

About 3 hours in, we were finally on a less rugged trail and we passed by a Korean man laying on his back with people all around him. And he was not breathing.
We kept walking, but about an hour later, an emergency rescue helicopter flies right over our heads in the direction of where the dead man was.

mmmm...anyways...

It was obvious we wouldn't make it to the optimal spot for sunrise, so this is the best I could do:




We were only about an hour away from the first shelter, when we made it to one of the mountain's peaks. The clouds were flying over us, and the wind was seriously testing my balance. But considering I would have fallen off a mountain if I lost my balance, I made sure to keep my yoga skills in check.



After a few more eternities, I saw it.

SHELTER!!! A BATHROOM!!! WATER!!! A PLACE TO GET OUT OF THE WIND!!!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we finally made it to the first stop. And just writing about it has worn me out.

Stay tuned for Seoraksan Part Two!

Seoraksan Preview

I made it back from Seoraksan. Well, most of me made it. Most of my leg muscles are still there somewhere.

There's absolutely no way I could fit this past weekend into one blog, so I will write it in chunks. Considering I have to get up in 6 hours, and can barely walk, I can't start right now. But, it will come sometime soon!

Get ready.

Is This Just a Learning Curve?

Will I eventually hit the ball out of the park? Or will I always strike out from the curve ball?

Teaching is hard. I never thought it could be this hard. Young kids show their love. Older kids are motivated and more mature. But the in-the-middle kids? They are hard to read! Sometimes they seem so bored in my class, yet afterwards they are so friendly to me. Others participate, but never say hi to me outside of class. I just don't know what to make of this new life. Constantly having to come up with new games and activities, always speaking in front of 40 kids, having the class schedule change last minute- from a high level class to the lowest level. Being told I need to prepare 20 lessons (on top of everything else) to give to the head English teacher for my semester long afternoon class...that starts in 2 weeks. All the while, I never know if I'm doing the right thing or not. Meanwhile, accounting principles (for the most part) stay the same. When accounting standards change, you get the memo, and go with it. Numbers don't lie. They all make sense...most of the time. Mmmm...

On a better note, I am taking an online Korean class, and enjoying it so far! I definitely need some practice with pronunciation, but maybe, if I ever feel energetic enough outside of work, I can work on it more.

I have a 3 day GEPIK teacher orientation this week, and really hope it will put my mind more at ease.

Off to read more of Lone Survivor...I highly recommend it to everybody.
Is there a job that lets me read for a living?